Lilly Higgins: Celebrate blood orange season with a lamb tagine

A tagine is a North African dish named after the distinctive earthenware dish it’s cooked in.

The tall conical lids mean that as the food cooks the steam rises, condenses and then trickles down the sides back into the dish. The base is wide and shallow and the lid sits on top. The dish itself can be a real annoyance to have in the cupboard as it takes up so much space.

I’ve broken two lids over the years so now I use the slow cooker as it operates on pretty much the same premise. I know and love tagines as super simple dishes that can be thrown into the slow cooker and forgotten about till wafts of spice and citrus remind me it’s time for dinner.

Then you simply cook some couscous or vegetables to go with the gorgeous slow-cooked supper. I usually combine some sort of fruit be it orange, dates, apricots or lemon with spices, vegetables and meat that benefits from some slow, low cooking.

Lamb shanks, lamb belly, stewing beef or add some gorgeous chunky fish for the final 10 or 15 minutes of cooking. I’m using a slow cooker for this recipe. Simply place everything in the slow cooker, turn it on and leave it for the day. This can be cooked in the oven though at a higher heat of 180°C for almost two hours.

The resulting dish will be just as delicious but the meat won’t fall off the fork as it does with slow cooking. Preserved lemon with chicken thighs is a traditional combination with a handful of plump Kalamata olives.

Soak up the flavours

Squash like butternut or sweet potatoes work really well and soak up the flavours. The dates in this recipe melt into the sauce and enrich it with texture and toffee flavour, balanced nicely by the salty olives. I love adding a burst of freshness to slow-cooked dishes by scattering herbs over them. The coriander really completes this dish, you could scatter over some toasted slivered almonds for even more texture.

Blood oranges’ short season is coming to an end as winter draws to a close. They’re a little smaller than regular oranges and taste quite tart. They’re perfect for marmalade, I’ve made a few batches and used half brown sugar and half white for caramel depth.

The juice makes a beautiful dressing for salad when mixed with olive oil and flakes of sea salt. I’ve used these special oranges to make Maltese mayonnaise and served it with hot crispy calamari, roast chicken or as a dip for asparagus. Just stir the ruby red juice through some home-made mayonnaise. It’s a lovely alternative to lemons.

If you’re looking for a special cocktail to brighten up the weekend, use blood oranges for your mimosas. Combine equal parts champagne with some chilled blood orange juice and garnish with a twist of blood orange.

Ingredients

1½lb diced lamb

180g dates, halved

2tsp smoked paprika

2tsp ground cinnamon

4 cloves garlic, sliced

Zest and juice of 1 blood orange

Handful of black olives

15g fresh coriander, chopped

Couscous, to serve

Method

Place the lamb, dates, paprika, cinnamon and garlic into a large pot or slow cooker. Add the orange juice, zest and 250ml water. Stir to combine well. Season with salt and black pepper, keeping in mind that the olives will be salty too.

Cook for six hours on high or eight on low. You could also cook this in the oven at 180°C for two hours with the lid on, add more water if necessary.

Cook the couscous according to package instructions. Divide between six bowls. Stir the olives into the tagine and spoon on top of the couscous. Scatter with the chopped coriander and serve.